FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 18, 2021
SEIU-West/SAHO Members' Vote Results
Saskatoon – Between January 11, 2021 and January 15, 2021, SEIU-West members who work for the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) or an Affiliate voted on the question of whether to accept or reject the tentative agreement (TA) reached between SEIU-West and SAHO in November of 2020.
The tentative agreement has been accepted by a majority of the members who participated in the vote.
“Our members have signaled to us that the TA is acceptable. While we are never certain of how the membership will respond when we hold ratification votes, in this case we have been bargaining with SAHO for almost four years and health care workers have been under tremendous strain,” says Barbara Cape, President of SEIU-West. “Doing a vote of this nature during COVID was certainly a new challenge, however, I am satisfied with our democratic process and we will now begin our work to fulfill the direction provided by our members.”
SEIU-West members working for the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) have been working without a contract since March 31, 2017.
“We have notified our members of the results and subsequently the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO), the Minister of Labour and the SHA and affiliates,” adds Cape. “Now we have to complete the final pieces of the ratification process.
“On behalf of our bargaining committee, I want to thank all of our members for their engagement and activism,” continues Cape. “Before you know it we’ll be back at the table and you can bet we’ll be expecting better from our provincial government.”
Service Employees International Union West (SEIU-West) represents over 13,000 people across Saskatchewan. They include people who work in health care, education, municipalities, community-based organizations, retirement homes and other sectors. They are joined by one colour – purple – and one union – SEIU-West. Visit PurpleWorks.ca to find out more about SEIU-West members.
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For more information contact:
Christine Miller, Communications Coordinator
Phone: 306-477-8733
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